Proficiency in the game of tennis requires the repeated practice of each of the strokes that are used in the game. To practice a particular stroke, however, the ball must be placed in a certain position relative to the practicer, and, if the practice takes place on a tennis court, the services of a skilled player, or pro are required to return the balls always to this position. For this reason two unskilled players cannot acquire high competence merely by "rallying" the ball back and forth between themselves. But the expense involved in hiring pros keeps most learners, particularly children, from achieving real skill in stroking. To overcome this problem automatic ball throwing machines and tennis-ball tees have been devised, but these do not solve the problem of retrieving widely scattered balls after they are hit, and, more importantly, they do not provide means for unskilled players to keep score on their improvement with practice.
One of the known tees that is most effective and that may advantageously be used in the practice of the present invention comprises a post that mounts a cross arm from which a cord is hung. A tennis ball is suspended to the end of the cord by a piece of Velcro. By a proper selection of the height of the post, and of the position of the cross arm thereon, the ball can be positioned properly for any stroke, from a low forehand to an overhead smash. But, for youngsters particularly, to maintain interest in the constant drilling on each stroke, the problem must be solved, not only of ball retrieval, but of giving the drill the aspects of a game. It is also desireable that the apparatus used should not require the space of an entire tennis court; it should, if possible, need only the space of a typical back yard, or even an unused room. The invention to be described not only requires relatively little ground area, and provides means for scoring stroking skills at widely different levels of competence in a game-like manner, but it is readily portable and can be assembled and disassembled by persons who have no particular mechanical skills.